Last week, basketball sensation Caitlyn Clark made her WNBA regular season debut during the Indiana Fever’s season opener against the Connecticut Sun. Despite Clark’s impressive performance, scoring 20 points, the Fever fell to the Sun with a final score of 92 to 71.
Two remarkable aspects stood out in this game. First, Clark’s debut was highly anticipated. As the number one draft pick, she recently concluded an extraordinary college career, leading the Iowa Hawkeyes to the national championship game. Clark finished her college career as the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer for both women and men, and she helped draw a record 18.9 million viewers to the Women’s National Championship game, surpassing the men’s game average of 14.8 million viewers.
The second notable aspect was the streaming of the game. Disney+ broadcasted the Fever vs. Sun game, marking its first live sports event. This doubleheader also featured a matchup between the Phoenix Mercury and the Las Vegas Aces. While Disney+ had previously simulcast sporting events in animated formats, this was its debut in live sports streaming. According to CNBC, Disney has increasingly relied on sporting events to boost its viewership numbers. In the second quarter of this fiscal year, Disney nearly turned a profit in its streaming unit for the first time.
The WNBA is currently negotiating its media rights deal, with League Commissioner Cathy Engelbert aiming to double the $60 million annually it currently earns from streaming games on ESPN, CBS, Ion, and Amazon Prime Video. For context, the NBA is eyeing a media deal worth $76 billion. A $120 million deal would be a significant boost for the WNBA.
Streaming platforms leaning into live sports to attract viewers is not a new concept. Earlier this year, Peacock was the exclusive streamer for an NFL playoff game, for which it paid the league $110 million. Despite some fan complaints about needing to subscribe to Peacock, the app soared to the number one spot in the App Store on game day. Netflix has also signed a notable deal with the NFL to stream the league’s Christmas Day games for the next three years.
During the ongoing media rights negotiations for the WNBA, the league’s games will be streamed on various platforms, with some exclusively on Paramount+ and Prime Video. If you’re a sports fan tired of searching for how to stream each game, brace yourself, as more streaming platforms are vying for your attention. This competition for viewers might be the most intense game of all.
